How Hector Got His Nickname
At first, Mr. Macrae refused to credit his own intelligence. The idea
was too appalling, and in his slow, deliberate way he made the Indian
leader repeat and reiterate his sinister communication.
Then, calling aside the seniors of his party, who had all been watching
the parley with intent, anxious faces, he told them the startling truth.
Naturally enough, they likewise were at the outset incredulous, and
stirred to righteous wrath. What had this howling mob of painted and
befeathered Indians to do with them? They were not the lords of the
land now, whatever they might have been before the coming of the white
man. Lord Selkirk was the rightful owner of the broad, rich acres to
which they had made so painful a pilgrimage, and they, the settlers,
were the possessors in his name. Not one step would they budge. They
had come to stay.
All this, and more, Mr. Macrae repeated to the Indian leader with the
utmost emphasis, but he might as well have spared his breath.
'Non--no--non!' the fellow responded in his hybrid jargon. 'Must go
way. No stay here. No food, no fire, no tepee. Go way down there,'
and he pointed due south.
While this parley was proceeding, the other members of his party had
been quietly forming a circle about the band of settlers, drawing
steadily closer until they were almost within touch of them. As it
happened, little Ailie, her first fright having passed off, grew
interested in the gay trappings of the Indians, and, ere her mother
noticed, sidled towards one of them, in order to touch the feathers
that adorned his leggings.
She was just beside his stirrup, when, with a quick movement, he
reached down, grasped her under the arms, and swung her up before him,
saying, in what was meant to be a soothing tone:
'Ma jolie petite. You like ride--eh?' Ailie gave a scream of terror,
that reached the ears of her mother and Hector at the same moment. The
former stood transfixed, but Hector, whose position was somewhat behind
the Indian, with the spring of a panther reached the pony's withers,
and the next moment had the Indian's throat tightly clasped in his
strong young hand.
The pony, frightened by the sudden addition of a second rider, at once
began to buck and rear, so that even its expert owner could hardly
retain his seat, doubly hampered as he was, holding Ailie, and being
held by Hector.
Noting his predicament, his companions closed in upon him to give him
help, and just at that moment Mrs. Macrae, her comely countenance
aflame with maternal anger, darted into their midst, and reaching up,
caught Ailie in her arms, crying: 'Ma bonnie bairn! Are ye hurt?' The
Indian let go his burden readily enough, and turned to attack Hector.
But the latter was too quick for him. He had seen his mother's action,
and the instant Ailie was safely in her arms, he let go of the Indian's
throat, and threw himself to the ground, narrowly escaping being
trampled upon by the ponies of the nearest Indians.
The whole thing happened so quickly that many of both parties saw
nothing of it but the excitement it occasioned, and, for the moment,
there was a complete break-up of the parley between Mr. Macrae and the
Indian leader.
When order was in some measure restored, and Mr. Macrae had assured
himself that neither of his children was in any wise injured, he once
more gave attention to the serious situation which had so unexpectedly
presented itself.
With considerable difficulty he made the Indian understand that he must
have time to consider his astounding communication, and to consult with
the other men of his party. To this the fellow, with much show of
reluctance, at last consented, and a gruff command sent the whole
cavalcade cantering off to a little distance, where they dismounted,
and, squatting upon the turf in a sort of circle, proceeded to light
their pipes, and talk in guttural tones of what had happened.
The Scots, that is to say the older men of the party, now gathered in a
little knot, their countenances grown suddenly haggard, for they all
realized that they were face to face with a crisis more menacing than
anything they had previously encountered.
''Tis unco strange. I canna understand it at all,' said Mr. Macrae.
'Noo that we are come here after sae great trouble they say we canna
bide, but maun gang away doon to the States, where we dinna want to be.'
'Let us gang ower to the fort there,' suggested Saunders, pointing to
the Hudson's Bay fort, which stood on the bank of the river, about a
quarter of a mile distant. 'Surely the Governor will take our pairt
and winna let these savages have their way with us.' This suggestion
met with instant approval, and three of the party, including Mr.
Macrae, were appointed to carry it out.
They at once set out across the prairie, while the other men rejoined
the women, to await the result of the embassy.
But no sooner had the three got well started, than with whoops and
yells the Indians sprang on their ponies and came cantering towards
them, waving their weapons in a way that meant only one thing--the
Scotsmen must go no farther. Baffled and disheartened, the latter,
after a futile attempt at parley with the Indians, walked slowly and in
silence back to their companions.
The situation seemed as desperate as it was bewildering. They were
utterly at a loss either to understand it or cope with it. Lord
Selkirk had given them to believe that they would be warmly welcomed at
Red River, and afforded all necessary assistance in settling down, and
this was the way in which his promises were being fulfilled.
In their extremity they sought guidance and strength from God, and, to
the amazement of the Indians, who had again drawn closer, the stately
music of the Psalms rose from their midst, followed by the sonorous
voice of Saunders, laying before the Lord of all the anguish of their
hearts.
When their prayers were over they all felt more composed in mind,
although no light had come to them concerning the crisis.
The Indians again withdrew a little distance, and Hector, who was as
curious as he was courageous, and whose eye had been taken by the gay
feathers and beaded buckskins of the Indian leader, which certainly
made a brave show, went over towards him for a closer inspection, Dour
and Dandy following at his heels.
The Indian, noting the movement, advanced to meet him with an amiable
grin, and, just before they came together, threw himself off his
cayuse, as much as to say: 'See, I'm willing to be on even terms with
you.' He was rather a fine-looking fellow, and Hector, little as he
yet knew about the red men of the plain, somehow felt that this was no
ordinary one.
He towered above the boy as they stood side by side, and, smiling
mischievously, he lifted the latter's thick cap from his head, and went
through the motion of scalping him. The next instant, his teasing
expression changed to one of lively admiration, he thrust his hands
into Hector's curly locks, exclaiming: 'Ti-ti-pu! Ti-ti-pu!'
Hector, for a moment, was somewhat startled, but he did not betray it.
Dour and Dandy, however, did not quite like the proceedings, and
growled menacingly through their glistening teeth. The fact of the
matter was the Indian had never seen such a poll of golden curly locks
before, and, accustomed as he was to the straight, black, limp tresses
of his own people, they seemed to him something almost supernatural.
Thenceforward he would call Hector nothing but 'Ti-ti-pu,' and the
nickname stuck like a burr, until only the gravest members of his own
party hardly ever thought of calling him anything else.
In sore perplexity the Scots took counsel together as to what they
should do. Their stock of provisions was nearly exhausted, and
although they had amongst them all a good deal of money, of what use
was it if the hostile residents would not sell them anything?
'It wad seem as though we maun go ewa' doon south for the winter at any
rate,' said Mr. Macrae, in a tone of profound despondency. 'The ways
of Providence are beyond our ken. We maun just trust that the Lord
will guide us, and provide for our necessities.'
The Indian leader was then informed that, if they were allowed to
obtain a supply of provisions, and such other things as would be
necessary for the journey, they would obey their orders and go down to
the United States.
This was assented to, and, after some further parley, most of the
Indians went away, leaving the rest of their number on guard. The
settlers, with heavy hearts, made preparations for the night.
Among the older members of the little band of pilgrims, to whom the
promised land seemed about to prove so bitter a disappointment, there
was not much sleep that night, and the morning found them haggard,
weary and depressed. But after they had all, like one great family,
united in prayer and the singing of the Psalms, they became more
composed. They were in God's hands, and dark as everything now looked,
He would send light in the end.
Soon after sunrise, the Indians reappeared in force, this time in quite
good humour, the settlers having already agreed to obey their orders,
and Mr. Macrae had little difficulty in making arrangements with them
to conduct the party to Pembina.
Under other circumstances, the settlement of the terms would have been
very amusing, for on the one side the language employed was a mixture
of Gaelic and English, and on the other of Indian jargon and mongrel
French, so that a great deal had to be made out by means of signs and
gestures, and contortions of countenances. Hector watched the
proceedings with intense interest. To tell the truth, after his first
fear of them had passed away, and he realized that they were not going
to kill and scalp his people, he was quite taken by the Indians, and
eager to get upon friendly terms with them.
By the leader he was particularly attracted, and, in exchange for the
nickname the Indian had given him, he, on his part, got the red man to
give him a name whereby to call him, namely, Wikonaie, which he
presently shortened to Wikon.
His friendship with the Indian, Hector's father looked upon with
approval. He himself was perhaps of too unbending a nature to make any
advances towards a more amiable footing, but he was very glad to see
Hector accomplish it in his frank, boyish way.
Word was given that the start for Pembina would be made early the next
morning; and one of the bitter things the settlers had to endure was
being deprived of all their arms. Poor Rob McEwen had to part with his
greatest treasure, a flintlock that his father had carried and used to
good effect in the battle of Culloden, and who can blame him if the
tears stood in his grey eyes as, after fondling the firearm as tenderly
as if it were a baby, he let it go from him never to get it back? But
even harder perhaps was the case of Jeanie Sinclair, who had to part
with her marriage ring, whose glitter caught the eye of a big Indian,
who would not be denied the gleaming treasure.
In spite of all their troubles, the settlers did not forget to sing
their Psalm and to join with one of their elders in earnest prayer, ere
they sadly turned their faces southward.